U.S. Pat. No. 5,589,672 describes an electric switching device having a fixed and a moving contact in which an arc splitter is arranged for purposes of discharging and cooling the switch arc. An arc plate runs approximately in the plane where the contacts touch each other. Two baffle plates that form a so-called slot motor are situated parallel next to the fixed contact. The contact material is made of highly conductive metal (e.g., copper); the arc splitter is made of ferromagnetic material. Owing to the different materials, the parts of the contact(s) and the arc splitter have to be manufactured as separate structures that are then connected to each other when the switching device is assembled. According to U.S. Pat. No. 5,589,672, the arc splitter is screwed from below onto the fixed contact. Another possibility is to employ spot welding or riveting.
The state of the art described above has the drawback that the mounting of an arc splitter onto the fixed contact is time-consuming.